The Equal
by Wild Craze
Summary: After The Eternity Code!!! At age 15, Artemis retrieves his lost memories thanks to Mulch. Wanting to continue his criminal activities, he decides to find himself an Equal to work with... he has no idea what he's getting into. R/R!!!
1. Remembering

~Title: The Equal  
  
~Author: Wild Craze  
  
~Summary: After The Eternity Code: At age fifteen, Artemis retrieves his lost memories thanks to Mulch, who pays him a visit. Wanting to restart his criminal activities, Artemis decides to find himself an Equal to work with . . . he has no idea what he's getting into.  
  
~Rating: PG, for now.  
  
~Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from the books.  
  
This is my first Artemis Fowl fic (be a little nice)! Give me feedback please!  
  
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Chapter 1:  
  
Artemis Fowl frowned, this expression being the one others were most accustomed of seeing on his face at Saint Bartelby's School for Young Gentlemen. Everyone knew that he was only here because his father had forced him too. The director had even requested that he moved to a higher school, seeing the results of the tests he was given proving that he was truly a boy prodigy. But his father had once again refused, saying that his son was to study like any other boy at the school, and that was the reason of Artemis' discontentment. His father still thought he was a child, even after seeing what he had done during his absence.  
  
His manicured nails hit the desk at regular interval as he barely listened to the teacher gibbering about psychological damage caused by traumatic experiences.  
  
His eyes scanned the room once more, eyeing the few other students sitting at their desks, all wearing similar vests, shirts, ties and trousers, all sitting in front of large polished oak desks with their portable computers, submissively taking notes. All had a mature look and attitude, all were geniuses, but none rivalled him. And he knew he was superior just as they did. Being at this school, even seeing that it was the best of the best, was an insult for his person and had quite a big effect on his ego, even if he tried to deny it.  
  
A bell rang in the hallway interrupting his thinking and he hastily shut his portable, not even having taken the time to turn it on to take notes. He already knew everything his teacher had just told him, anyways. He placed a couple of his books and his pc in his leather case and was rising from his seat when the professor spoke again.  
  
"Now, now gentlemen," he said in his old, raspy voice. "I would like your reports on theory 54 on my desk by Friday. Good day."  
  
Artemis walked out, followed by other students but didn't walk in the same direction, heading through a different hallway.  
  
The halls were wide, mostly made of wood, the floor being covered by a large dark red carpet. Paintings hung on the walls and there were statues and large potted plants here and there, there were large draped windows and everything simply reflected elegance. Not many boys got to enter, since students had to have at least 115 of IQ, on the adult scale . . . and the money. Artemis had very easily entered since his own intelligence exceeded 145, making him part of the 0,1% of the population able to have to such brainpower. Money, of course, wasn't a problem at all.  
  
Artemis turned a corner and walked up to a door, one that looked like all the others, knocked and entered Dr. Po's office to endure once again forty- five minutes of ridiculous therapy from a man that had read less psychology text books than him and had had degrees that Artemis himself could get in a day's work. But his parents' orders were his parents' orders.  
  
"Good evening, doctor Po," Artemis said calmly, closing the door behind him, making the man sitting in the same fake Victorian chair, jump.  
  
"Ah, master Fowl, I was expecting you," the man said, closing the file he was holding and taking another from his desk. "Do sit down."  
  
Artemis headed towards the seat the doctor was vaguely indicating, sat down and started inspecting his nails as his interlocutor skipped a few pages of his client's unclear life story.  
  
"As I see, your father has returned," he muttered. "Surely not going to help me make you face your problems, now is it?"  
  
"Unfortunately not," Artemis said flatly. "But when will you learn that my mind cannot be analysed?"  
  
"Oh it can," the man said, rubbing his chin. "Everyone's mind can be analysed."  
  
"Except mine."  
  
Doctor Po smiled, sensing that he was maybe arriving to something.  
  
"And so we arrive to you're self-esteem again," he said. " . . . And why, do you keep affirming that you are special?"  
  
It was Artemis' turn to grin, giving the doctor one of his best vampire smiles.  
  
"I thought you were the doctor," he said calmly. "I know that you know that I know you know, but I am surely not going to repeat it again. You know that I am a genius, simply check my files and you will see . . . again."  
  
Doctor Po frowned deeply as his face turned the colour of sour milk.  
  
"When will you stop playing you little games?" he said.  
  
"Again, you are the doctor, you tell me," Artemis said, leaning back in his chair.  
  
And so that is how Artemis spent the next forty minutes. Dr. Po did not give up, keeping on questioning him, trying to make him crack, but as always, he was unproductive.  
  
Artemis finished all his classes the same way, bored, finding that his days at the school were a total waist of time. After his classes, Butler came to get him in the family's Bentley and brought him back at the Fowl Mansion, like every other day. Back at his house, he locked himself in his study for the rest of the afternoon, spending his time in front of the computer. At dinner, he ate alone, seeing that his parents were off to Hawaii for the next two weeks, leaving him alone with Butler, not that he complained.  
  
Since his father had returned everything had changed . . . drastically. There were no more criminal activities, Artemis didn't have the slightest control over his family's finance and his parents were always going on trips, checking that he was always at school and that he wasn't planning anything that would spoil the family name. Because that was what was happening. The Fowls, were trying to be honest. It just didn't stick together.  
  
But what came next didn't improve anything.  
  
After dinner, once night had crept over the grounds, a visitor arrived, knocking madly on the main door. Butler opened after the thirty-second knock and glared outside, only to notice that no one was there. Growling, he was about to shut the door when he noticed a little man in the shadows right next to the entrance.  
  
He jumped in the light when he saw that Butler was going to grab him.  
  
"Hey, Butler!" he said. "Long time no see, hun?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Butler said, looking down at the little hairy man that had addressed him. "I am quite sure we do not know each other."  
  
"O'course I'm not," growled the little man, his hands hitting his sides. "It's not like I could mistake you with someone else . . . Is Stinker here?"  
  
"Stinker?"  
  
"Ah, no, I have to see Artemis first," the little man continued, making a few steps into the mansion, stopped by Butler.  
  
"Ah, come on, Butler," the now annoyed little folk said. "I just got out of jail three weeks ago thanks to Artemis' advice, I laid low for a while, no LEP officer followed me, I'm clean, now let me go, I thought we were friends."  
  
"But I don't even know you!"  
  
The little man stayed silent for a while before erupting in a fit of laughs under Butler's incredulous stare.  
  
"Haha . . . I forgot . . . you were all mesmerized . . . hoho . . . well, what the hell am I doing here, then?" he said between shudders of amusement. "Sorry, wrong address."  
  
The little man was now about to walk out when Artemis' voice was heard from the first floor and he appeared in the staircase.  
  
"Excuse me," he said coldly. "I believe you know me, though I have no recollection of having met you."  
  
"Ah, I have something for you, Arty," the little man said, turning around. "The gold got off a little bit, but it's still intact."  
  
Artemis walked down the stairs, perplexed to have been called by his father's pet name by a total strager, while the stranger in question looked in various pockets of his coat, finally pulling out a chain, on which was hanging some sort of medallion.  
  
"No, this doesn't belong to me," Artemis said, examining the object.  
  
"Yes it does! You gave it to me before being mesmerized! You're supposed to remember! You said to lay low for a couple of years, but I couldn't wait," the man said. "You know . . . together we'll be unstoppable."  
  
"He doesn't know you," Butler said, picking him up by the collar and walking back to the door.  
  
"Wait Butler!" Artemis said, stopping him. " . . . It's a disk."  
  
A few moments later, the trio was in the study and Artemis was inserting the tiny disk into his computer. It took a few seconds, but a window appeared on the screen.  
  
From: Artemis Fowl To: Myself  
  
Under this appeared a list of words such as Haven, LEP, the Ritual, Foaly, the C Cube, Holly Short, Commander Root . . . As Artemis read them, something in his mind clicked.  
  
Moments later, he remembered every single thing the fairies had made him forget, more than two years ago. A devilish smile appeared on his pale features as he tapped his fingers together.  
  
"Thank you Mulch," he said to the little hairy man he know recognized as a dwarf.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I hope you liked it, even if nothing really happened yet. I want to wait to see how many reviews I can get, then I'll send in chapter 2. I know that nothing is really happening yet, but there will be action.  
  
So, please review if you want more! Or just review to tell me what you think! 


	2. The Plan

I would like to thank Kate, Elisa, Anna, Jenni and Shadowweaver for having reviewed. Thank you all very much! ^_^  
  
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Chapter 2: The Plan  
  
"Now I remember," Artemis said, tapping the side of his head as his eyes narrowed. "I had asked you and Juliet to wear contact lenses. I had discovered that it had the same effect the sun glasses had, and so we couldn't truly be mesmerized."  
  
Butler and Mulch listened to him, sitting on either side of the large rectangular wooden table at the end of which sat Artemis.  
  
"I only pretended that the mezmer was working on me," he continued. "And I didn't talk about the disk I had asked Butler to place on the medallion. The plan was perfect."  
  
Butler, who had been asked to read what was on the disk, also remembered everything that the fairies had tried to make him forget. He nodded, understanding what his master and friend was saying, but didn't dare interrupt his thinking.  
  
"We will need to call back Juliet from her wrestling tour," he said, still looking out onto the unknown. "And make her read the disk, in order to make her remember."  
  
"Do we truly need to?" Butler asked, not wanting his little sister to get into any trouble with the fairies again. "I mean, Juliet is doing very fine not knowing anything."  
  
Artemis turned his leather chair to face Butler completely.  
  
"I need to make her remember," he said. "Because I have another plan."  
  
"Artemis! You said all your activities were over!' Butler roared. "You said you wouldn't need a bodyguard anymore."  
  
"Butler, I can't change," Artemis said coldly, his eyes narrowing again. "You have no idea how dull everything is without something sufficient to avert a mind such as mine. My father might have changed, but not I. I'm sticking to my family's motto. Gold is Power. Well gold is also something strong enough to make my mind work in a levelheaded way. I know what I'm doing, Domovoi."  
  
Butler sat down, seeing that Artemis was talking to him like a friend would, and not an employer. And he was right and so he stayed silent, waiting to hear the rest and hoping Artemis wasn't doing a mistake . . . But then again, Artemis never made mistakes without anticipating their consequences.  
  
"So Butler," Artemis said, now looking straight into his eyes. "Are you with me?"  
  
Butler sighed.  
  
"Of course I am."  
  
On his side, Mulch Diggums didn't move, wanting to know what diabolical plan Artemis was concocting.  
  
Seeing that Butler had calmed down and understood him, Artemis continued.  
  
"Now for the one difficulty," he sighed. "My parents."  
  
There was another moment of silence as the criminal mastermind thought. But of course, the two other beings at the table knew that he was doubtlessly faking it. Artemis had already planed everything. He was always two steps ahead.  
  
"They call at specific times, due to the time difference, which is of twelve hours and thirty minutes," he started. "And so, they call to check on me only at nightfall or in the morning, which gives us the possibility of being out of the country for ten hours, giving us an hour of transportation. Of course, Butler, you will have to lie to my father, telling him that I am ill, having caught a strange illness. I shall make fake medical reports that I will fax to school."  
  
Artemis took a deep breath, smiling.  
  
"But then, my parents would check on me more often and would ask Butler to pass me the phone, or, seeing things lightly more drastically, will even go up to shortening their vacation that they have just extended to a month. But, of course, I will not let them do that."  
  
Mulch looked at him, avid to know the rest.  
  
"I have already created a fake contest in which my parents have won a three week cruise in the middle of the Tasman Sea, and I know they won't refuse. In total, this gives us nearly two months of freedom."  
  
Mulch beamed, looking from Butler to Artemis and Artemis to Butler again.  
  
"I will transfer the home line on a cellular phone that Butler will carry at all time," Artemis said. "But it will take at least two weeks for a clear, untraceable connection, and so we must stay here for now, which is fine, seeing that I will need time to get what I need for this mission."  
  
"And what is the mission?" Mulch couldn't help but ask.  
  
Artemis smiled in way making his interlocutors rethink about their being here being a good choice.  
  
"It's a very, very big job that has its equally big rewards," he said, almost in a whisper. "robberies. Five, maybe six of them."  
  
Mulch was now almost crying with happiness.  
  
"The fairies could kill you this time, Artemis," Butler said seriously. "Stealing from them isn't a good idea at all."  
  
"That's the beauty of it!" Artemis exclaimed. "First of all, they won't know immediately that it's me, because they believe that I am mesmerized. Second of all, I will play by their rules, and third of all, what I want to steal is only half theirs."  
  
"What do you mean?" Butler asked without giving him the chance to continue.  
  
"Well . . . only until they guess It's me, but I will use their rules against them, just like I did when I kidnapped Capitan Holly Short."  
  
"Artemis this is dangerous," Butler continued. "I have a bad feeling about this. And you know I won't be able to follow you this time."  
  
"Juliet will be my bodyguard," Artemis continued. "Madame Ko didn't give her her tattoo, but I trust her."  
  
"Artemis, I trust Juliet too but she isn't good at this sort of thing," Butler said, thinking of his little sister. "I . . . I want you to do something . . . for me to accept doing all of this."  
  
Artemis frowned, giving Butler a cold look.  
  
"I know . . . The problem is that you don't respect anyone enough to treat them as an equal."  
  
Artemis smiled interiorly. Doctor Po had told him the exact same thing a few years back.  
  
"And . . . for me to allow you to go on like this . . . well . . . I'd . . . I'd want you to find an equal. Then I'm going to feel better about all of this," Butler said, carefully choosing his words. "A person you could trust on this mission, trust like you could trust me, as a friend, not a bodyguard. Someone you could respect just a little . . .Artemis, please do it for me."  
  
Artemis looked totally angry and unhappy about the whole idea.  
  
"Butler, I would have to tell them about the fairies," he said, quite coldly. "I would have to tell them everything. *That* is dangerous."  
  
"Do it, Artemis," Butler said seriously.  
  
Artemis looked at Butler for a long while, both having a serious look on their faces.  
  
~I still have some fairy magic,~ Artemis thought. ~I could mesmerize him and use him, and not have to take on an equal . . . and anyways, no one can equal me. It would be so dangerous . . . but Butler is my friend . . . I can't . . .~  
  
"Fine," Artemis said finally. "I'll do it."  
  
~What am I getting into?~  
  
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Do you like it? Do you think I could improve something? Please review! 


	3. Search and Discovery

I would like to thank all my reviewers!  
  
Katie: ^_^ You were my first reviewer on this story! I'm really happy you like it!  
  
Nameless_bulldog: Don't worry! Artemis is going to stay a criminal, but he's going to change . . . *drastically*! Mostly because of the Equal. ^_^  
  
Shadowweaver: No it wasn't a mistake . . . but I'm happy someone noticed that! ^_^ It will be explained . . .  
  
Hazel A.Fowl Birch: Thank you very much!!! ^_^  
  
Jenni: Thanks! Your reviews are greatly appreciated! ^_^  
  
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Chapter 3: Search and Discovery  
  
The next morning was Saturday, and so Artemis did not have to find an excuse to stay home. He sat at the same table he had sat at the previous night with Mulch and Butler. Files and files, records of 'notorious' thieves and criminals now covered the table and were being looked at one by one by the young criminal mastermind, himself being carefully watched by Butler, who wanted to make sure he found someone able to be considered as an Equal to his master.  
  
"I would like to find someone not too old who would accept following my orders," Artemis said smugly. "This one, Charles Fay, is not too bad. He's barely twenty nine, that's the problem, because at that age, they think they know everything."  
  
They spent more than two hours looking through files, Artemis giving quotes such as 'brainless', or 'too old' as he threw the records one by one to the floor. Butler was starting to despair, knowing that he would have to let Artemis work alone if no one was found.  
  
Having finished sleeping shortly after noon, Mulch jumped on one of the chairs and opened one of the files. He started reading.  
  
"This one's not too bad," he said, handing it to Artemis who opened the folder and started reading the first few lines.  
  
"Butler, I asked you if you to provide a picture," he said seeing that no photo was given.  
  
"That's because no photograph was able to be taken," Butler said, taking a look at the folder.  
  
Artemis smiled.  
  
"Mulch, could you put the folders with no pictures in priority, please?" he asked.  
  
Butler frowned, but didn't say anything. He saw that Artemis was now seriously shortening the list of candidates to those who were able to keep their faces masked by the world.  
  
"For this job, a person who hasn't been identified is perfect," Artemis said, opening one of the records Mulch started to hand him.  
  
Butler watched was the list shorten and shorten, and just as he was about to give up, Artemis chose three contestants. The first was an American named Robert Mitchell. He was twenty-eight, had successfully robbed four banks and the government had no clue he had did it. The second, a French going by the name of Pierre Duval was twenty-five and was a professional in thefts. The third was barely twenty-one and had a record that Artemis found quite amusing. He was a thief, not wanting to steal. He entered museums or homes, took something and placed a cheap thing at its place. A few days later, he returned the stolen object at its place, fooling all the new security that had been installed after the first robbery.  
  
"Butler, trace down these three," he said. "I want to know everything about them from what place they live to what their favourite clothe line is."  
  
~~~  
  
Once he had found everything there was to know about these three gentlemen, Butler came back with three *other* files that he handed to his employer. Artemis read them rather quickly and made some sort of a face once his lecture was done.  
  
"None of them are good enough," he said quietly.  
  
Butler didn't say a word, looking at the floor, slightly ashamed of himself. He knew Artemis' eyes were locked on him. He thought, desperately trying to remember a name . . . any name.  
  
" . . . fine . . . I . . . NO! I know who!" Butler exclaimed, making Artemis cock his eyebrows, tapping his fingers on the table. "I've heard about a thief . . . his name's famous among some people . . . its . . ."  
  
"Yes?" Artemis said patiently.  
  
"Carver," Butler said finally, sighing with relief. "Memphis Carver."  
  
~~~  
  
Artemis was sitting in front of a the gigantic plasma screen of the latest PC that wasn't even on the markets yet, flanked by Butler, and Mulch who had decided to join them again, seeing that they were finally on to something real.  
  
"Nothing's written about him on the internet," Butler said softly to Artemis. "He's a professional, like you. He was never caught, and, well, not many people know that he exists."  
  
"And how did you find out about him?" Artemis asked in a rather cold way, but seeming truly interested.  
  
"His name runs around," Butler said vaguely. "I first heard of him by Harold Lubnertiz, another bodyguard. He referred to him after I talked to him about you, saying that you seemed very similar."  
  
"And so this 'Harold', knew Carver personally?" Artemis asked.  
  
"Yes," Butler answered. "He couldn't say much because he was strained to secrecy, but he did tell me some things."  
  
Artemis and Mulch both looked at him in a somewhat avid way, waiting to hear more.  
  
"He said that he was the best of the best," Butler continued. "Mainly in active robberies. He works alone, moves around a lot and has a bodyguard. He's said to be a total genius . . ."  
  
"Butler, I hope you are taking in notice that I have absolutely no true information about this Memphis Carver and that I am trusting you on this," Artemis said ever so calmly. "Contact your friend Harold and try to get information out of him. Then try to contact him . . . Invite him over for an 'interview'."  
  
Butler smiled and walked out of the room. Seeing that nothing else was happening, Mulch also left the room, leaving Artemis alone in his study. He stayed silent for a long while, pressing his fingers one against the other, breathing quietly. He didn't seem annoyed that Butler had found someone. He had no idea if it was a bright idea, but he always liked difficulties.  
  
He stayed silent, but his mind was troubled. He pushed aside a pile of records and scrambled through papers, until he found what he was looking for, the tiny disk Mulch had brought in.  
  
He inserted it in his computer and the screen was one again filled the words that had brought back his memory. He dragged the screen down with his mouse and found the line he wanted to reread, the word he had blacked on. It was a book title.  
  
He rose from his seat and walked to the door, locking it. He vaguely brushed his Armani suit and walked to one of the shelves on the opposite wall. His eyes glided from volume to volume on the third shelf, until he stopped and smiled in front of a particularly dusty book. The title was 'Dictionary of England's most renown writers of the twelfth century'. Not a book you were likely to read. He took the book and passed his hand on the cover. Nothing was written on its black surface, but there were things on it the eye could not see. Artemis looked out into the vague, letting his fingers find what he was looking for: marks, bumps and lines, pressed onto the cover.  
  
"Five one two three one," Artemis said, smirking as he recognized the marks as numbers.  
  
Smiling, he walked back to his computer and shut down the program. He sighed and walked to another shelf, in the corner of the room. Once he reached it, he bent down to the floor and pressed on a button under the bookshelf's ledge. A sound was heard and Artemis made a step back, watching the shelf move sideways, revealing a passageway. He walked in, and found himself in a room, looking more like a command centre than anything else. He sat down in the only chair and pressed the numbers 51231 on the only keypad.  
  
The whole command centre lit up and all the machines started working. The screen in front of him turned on and a face appeared on it, but not any sort a face. It was a fairy. It looked a little angry but submissive to what was happening. Its face was murky brown and had cropped black hair held back with a bandana, behind two severally pierced pointy ears, had yellow eyes and was wearing human kids' clothes, due to its size. Only the sky could be seen in background.  
  
"Hello, Crystal," Artemis said, recognizing the fairy. "Flying again, are you?"  
  
"Yes," she simply said. "Make it quick, I don't want LEP or anyone else tracking me down."  
  
"Yes, of course," Artemis said. "There's a change of plan. I will not need you to mesmerize Butler or anyone else . . . for now."  
  
"Would you just let me get off this engagement?" Crystal said, seeming more than a little annoyed. "Back then, you said you just needed to see The Book and that you would make me fly again. Now when you help me with my whisky addiction, *again* you want my magic at your disposition. Why do you keep blackmailing me?"  
  
"A fairy is always useful," Artemis simply said. "And I know what you're thinking, *again*. You can't mesmerize me and go off like that. Remember your fairy rules of commitment."  
  
The fairy grumbled.  
  
"Fine," she said. "Only contact me once you've decided what you want."  
  
The screen went blank and Artemis smiled again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The fairy, Crystal, is the fairy from the first book. She got more whisky problems and Artemis blackmailed her telling her that he would help her again if she used his power for him. They made a deal, and now Crystal can't get out of it because of the 'fairy rules' . . . and so she can't just mesmerize him and walk away. Was that . . . clear? Is it plausible?  
  
Please review! I want to know what you think! 


	4. Expert

The fun starts here! Thanks to Night and BlackSpark, for having reviewed!  
  
Night: I took my info about the IQ on Encarta so I doubt its wrong, but it was an adult scale, so your could still be right. I don't know. ^_^  
  
BlackSpark: Thank you! And believe me, you won't be disappointed by the Equal . . . ^_^  
  
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Chapter 4: Expert  
  
It was nighttime in New York, close to two in the morning. A thick layer of grey clouds covered the sky and only the street lamps and neon signs gave out any form of light. A single van was parked in the business section of the city, the driver looking up at the tall glass building in front of him, across the street. The driver was tall and had very well developed muscles. His black hair was cut short, his skin was of a dark tone and he was wearing a formal black suit with tie. He was looking at the side of the glass building seen from the street, occasionally looking down at a portable computer's screen placed on the passenger seat. In the back of the van was a simple bench with belt and racks attached to the side of the vehicle, on which were electronic equipments, computers, wires and many other machines.  
  
Looking back up at the building, a flash, most probably made by a flashlight, was seen on the top floor. The man in the vehicle turned to the computer, pressed a button and entered a serie of letters and numbers. Once this was done, he took a flashlight from his side, brought it to the windshield and flashed twice towards the building.  
  
More than six hundred and fifty feet in the air, on the top of the building, a person in a black bodysuit received the signal, made sure the harness around his waist was secure before turning towards a machine clasped to the roof and linked to the rope, itself attached to the harness with multiple clips and clasps. The individual tapped a number, more precisely a height, on the keyboard and it appeared on the screen. He turned around to the ledge of the building, tugged on his black mask and gloves, and, after looking at the ground below, extended his arms and jumped into the black void.  
  
The machine calculated the length of the rope desired for it to arrive at the designated height it was assigned, and the individual hanging on the other end, after swinging up and down for a moment, arrived at the exact elevation tapped on the machine. He sighed, turned around in order not to be hanging head upside down, and pulled out four circular objects from one of his suit's pockets. Pulling out what looked like white modelling clay, the person looked at the window of the fifty-fifth in front of which he had stopped and placed each circular object in each corner, stuck under some of the modelling clay.  
  
The trespasser took out a little lever from another pocket and pressed on the green button. The rope dragged him up of two metres, and it was only there that he pulled out another lever that he rose, making the four round objects explode under the modelling clay. The window's glass shattered into tiny pieces and started its descent to the ground below.  
  
In the meantime, the trespasser glided down to his previous position, unhooked himself from his harness and stepped into the room behind the now departed glass. He observed the still security camera and noticed that the standard red light supposed to be seen was not there. The accomplice in the van had successfully deactivated the security system, and so the thief could walk freely through the room without being detected by the camera or the laser beams for the next seven minutes.  
  
The intruder took the same lever he had used to bring himself above the zone of explosion and pressed on the blue button. The machine holding the rope on top of the roof let go of its strong grip and started its descent towards the ground, just like the broken glass.  
  
In the office, the thief walked to a modern art painting, passed his finders along the frame and moved it sideways, to reveal the front face of a safe with a classic combination lock.  
  
"Six minutes, in counting," a female voice said through a small micro attached to the burglar's visor.  
  
The intruder made a step closer to the wall, leaned down and turn his head sideways as he slowly started to turn the security device.  
  
Time passed as he found out that the first number of the safe was forty- one.  
  
"Four minutes," the same feminine voice said in the mike.  
  
The second number was twenty-seven.  
  
"Two minutes and thirty seconds," the voice continued, a tinge of panic in its tone.  
  
The last number was nine.  
  
The thief opened the safe, but knew an electronic wire would trigger an alarm if he didn't cut it less than 0,52 seconds after opening opened it. Taking a pair of pincers from his belt, the thief placed a hand on the knob and opened it brutally. He reached out in the opening at cut the first wire he met. The beginning of a beep was heard but it was immediately cut off.  
  
"A minute!" the voice said quickly.  
  
With the same chilling composure, the intruder took a black bag from his side and started pushing everything from the safe into it. He closed the bag, attached it to his belt and closed the safe's door, pushing the painting back on top of it. He walked to the window, made sure nothing could suggest his passage and leaned on the window frame. Taking a leap, the intruder jumped out, just as the camera started blinking again.  
  
The missing glass part of the window could not be seen, and so the security guard on the first floor, the one who had been staring at a still image for the past ten minutes, had no idea that the glass was missing and that they had been robbed.  
  
Outside, the thief was deploying his parachute. He landed on the empty sidewalk just as the man in the van came out of his vehicle. He helped the robber to get rid of his parachute, took it and brought it back to the van as the thief sat in the backseat. He walked back out with a bag and a broom, walked to the zone where the broken glass and rope had fallen. He placed everything in the bag, jogged back to the van, started the engine and drove off.  
  
"Fabio, Meredith," the thief said softly to the man driving and the woman that was listening in the mike. "Good job."  
  
The man smiled and accelerated.  
  
"By the way, Memph'," Meredith said from the mike. "You got a new job. A certain Artemis Fowl wants to meet you."  
  
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P-p-p-please review??? ^_^ 


	5. Unusual Surprise

I'm Sorry I took so much time to update! I was busy, you see . . . with school stuff (yeah! In the middle of August! How pitiful is that?) -_-  
  
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Chapter 5:  
  
Artemis was embarrassed to face it, but he was excited. He was going to meet someone with a similar mind as his, and thus, was going to achieve something he had never done before.  
  
He looked at his watch one again, seeing that it was ten to noon. Mr. Carver would arrive any minute. He walked downstairs and sat in the living room, just to get up a second later to go see through the window.  
  
The sky was grey and it was raining. There was a light fog a foot above the ground, but it was usual in this country. Artemis could barely see the gate delimiting the end of the manor's grounds, and so decided to go up to the security room, in which he found Butler, sitting in a chair in front of multiple screens showing the house and the land.  
  
"Anything approaching?" Artemis asked, trying not to show his impatience.  
  
"Not yet," Butler answered, watching the screen with unblinking eyes.  
  
"What's that?" Artemis asked, narrowing his eyes and watching one of the screens where a red form had appeared.  
  
"Ah," Butler said. "That screen only detects heat, as you know. It seems that a vehicle is approaching."  
  
"How many passengers?"  
  
"One sitting in the back seat and one driving," Butler answered. "They're parking in front of the gate. Should I go greet them at the door?"  
  
Artemis remained inexpressive, watching as the first form, the driver, stopped the car, opened his door and opened an umbrella. He walked around the car to the opposite back door and opened it, holding the umbrella open for the person he expected to be Memphis Carver.  
  
"No Butler," Artemis said suddenly. "Get your riffle and position yourself at the window in the living room of the first floor. Aim for the client, then the bodyguard."  
  
Butler's eyes had grown three time their normal size.  
  
"But Artemis!" he exclaimed. "No!"  
  
"Do it, Butler," Artemis said severely. "I can't work with someone who can't expect the worst case scenario. Try to kill them. Now."  
  
Butler looked like he was going to hit Artemis. He rose from his seat, looked at his young master, his eyes throwing daggers, and walked out, almost slamming the door behind him.  
  
Artemis smiled weakly and sat in Butler's chair, watching as two forms walked through the gates, towards the door.  
  
The first form was imposing, almost as imposing as Butler. The only difference was that this bodyguard was a bit smaller. Artemis could see from the other screens that he was wearing a suit with tie. The second form was of medium height, and didn't have a very strong built . . . like himself, when he thought of it. He was wearing a black trench coat and his face could be seen, thanks to the umbrella.  
  
What happened next surprised him. The person under the umbrella lifted his briefcase and placed it in front of him. Butler had shot a bullet towards him a millisecond before, and it simply hit the briefcase instead of the person. The bodyguard lowered his umbrella and it was now clear to Artemis that the umbrella was not made or regular material, but of the same textile found in bulletproof vests. When Butler tried to shoot again, the bullets didn't go very far.  
  
"Satisfied, Artemis?" Butler asked, knowing that his master could hear him in the control room, thanks to the little ear pin in his left ear.  
  
"Yes," Artemis simply answered. "Please answer the door and bring them to the conference room on the first floor."  
  
Artemis left the control room and walked to the conference room, brushing his suit regularly. He took his best serious and determined look and sat in his chair, at the end of a long rectangular table.  
  
He waited, hands neatly folded in front of him.  
  
Shortly after, the door opened and Butler entered, opening the door for Artemis' guest. To the look on his bodyguard's face, Artemis immediately knew something was wrong.  
  
And he soon figured why.  
  
Memphis Carver entered the room.  
  
She had a mix of straight auburn and dark blond hair tied into half a ponytail. She had blue eyes, was Artemis' height, was slim and was wearing a beige suit, consisting of a long sleeved beige vest reaching her knees, under which was a blouse, and a pair of matching pants.  
  
She was holding her briefcase in one hand and entered the room with a small smirk on her face. Just behind her was a strong looking man in his mid- twenties, wearing a complete suit, having short black hair, and dark skin, giving the impression that he had just come back from Cuba. He didn't look too friendly.  
  
The girl walked forwards and handed out her hand to Artemis, that he almost reluctantly shook.  
  
What hit Artemis the most was how young she looked. She was fifteen.  
  
"Memphis Carver?" he asked dryly, waiting for an explanation, secretly paying God that she was simply his assistant.  
  
"Sydney Croft, actually," she said, smiling a little. "Memphis Carver is a pseudonym."  
  
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O dear . . . I'm a bit afraid now. Would you all have preferred the Equal to be a boy?  
  
Well . . . the next update will come sooner. 


End file.
